This invention relates generally to carwash apparatus and particularly to a mobile apparatus which can be readily operated by a single operator.
Automatic and manual carwash systems of various types have been well known for many years. In general, the automatic type of apparatus requires either that the vehicle be driven through a wash tunnel or that a self-propelled brush-carrying gantry be moved over a stationary vehicle. Manual systems usually require that the vehicle be driven into a stall provided with a manually operated spray wand. Neither automatic nor manual systems of these types are suitable for washing a large number of stationary vehicles.
Although portable systems for washing vehicles are known, they tend to be divisible into two categories. The first includes apparatus having brushes which are mounted to the end of articulated arms and are intended for washing aircraft and the like. The second includes apparatus having brushes which are mounted on special purpose vehicles such as fork lift trucks and are intended for washing the substantially straight sides of large vehicles. One of the latter type of carwash is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,609 and provides a rearwardly angled boom carried by a vertically telescopic tower. Another apparatus, which is intended for use with regular automobiles, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,333 and provides a track-mounted machine having a rearwardly angled boom and utilizing a special overhead mopping system. Neither of the above devices is suitable for providing a semiautomatic portable carwash apparatus which could be readily used for washing large numbers of parked vehicles rapidly and inexpensively.